Bridge Over Troubled Water
by Chelsea Oz
Summary: It's the night before Georg and Maria's wedding and Maria can't sleep as the past events leading up to this night repeat in her head. An unexpected night guest reassures her that she needn't worry and that everything's going to be all right. One shot.


The clock struck midnight and I was wide awake. I tried to look straight ahead at my door because if my eyes are to shift anywhere else, I will remember what will take place tomorrow. Georg Von Trapp and I are to be wed tomorrow night and tonight will be my last night sleeping in the governess room; the room where the next part of my life had begun. The minute the thunder roared and scared the children was the minute that I knew there was no going back to the abbey even though I couldn't give anyone a reason for why I thought that at the time.

I bit my nails at the reality of the fact that I did go back to the abbey, though. I was scared: scared of the party scene; scared of Georg and my feelings for him that weighed heavier on my soul with each passing day; scared of the fact that Baroness Schrader knew and also scared of how cruel she could be when she chose; scared that I was going to lose the children no matter what I was going to do; scared of falling from grace and becoming distant from the God that I swore to serve. When I went back, Reverend Mother already sensed all the feelings I had but had no fear that I could overcome them because in the eyes of the Lord, I didn't have much of a choice. Seeing her so confident about the fact that I was going to be all right made me believe it, too and so here I am again.

I always said that when God closes a door, that somewhere he would open a window and boy, did he open some! Leaving the abbey for good and coming back to fulfill what God wanted me to do had shown me what God himself was capable of. Baroness Schrader had left and Georg came to me. The Lord proved that my feelings were not in vain and for that I will be eternally grateful. The children from the start had welcomed me back with open arms but that is one thing I will always feel guilty about-leaving them. I will never know what that did to them and I still can't bring myself to tell them that I'm sorry or to tell them exactly why I did what I had done but maybe there is no need to rush. Tears well up in my eyes when I think of their darling faces when Georg announced that it was me who was going to be his wife, not Baroness Schrader. One would think that someone had given them the sun, the moon and the stars all at once. When we all hugged each other through our happy tears, I swore that I would never feel so good and so loved again.

I bolted upright in the bed when I heard a gentle knocking at my door. I wiped my cheeks and covered myself up with my blanket before I whispered for whomever to come in. I was expecting one of the children for maybe one had a bad dream but that wasn't the case; instead I found Georg at the other end of my door.

"What are you doing?" I asked him as I lowered my blanket down.

"I wanted to see you," he said as he gently shut the door and came over to me.

"At this time of night?" I asked as he sat beside me. "Why on earth couldn't it wait until morning? Is it the children?"

"No, it's you," he said as he put his hand on my shoulder. I all of a sudden had a sunken feeling this was going to be about our wedding.

"What happened?" I ask with tears brimming once more.

"I had a feeling you were up thinking about tomorrow," he said as he caught my tears with his thumbs.

"You were, too?"

"Not about tomorrow but about you. I just wanted you to know that you're all right."

I was speechless; what a thoughtful thing for him to say! How did he know? I began to cry even harder and that was when he kissed me with both of his hands still holding my face.

"You're all right, darling," he said once more as he gave me a hug.

"Thank you," I replied as I buried my face in his shoulder.

He cradled me for some time and it felt so wonderful. He really does love me and thank the Lord for it. He finally took me back by the shoulders and kissed my forehead. I knew we had to part sooner or later and as much as I wanted to fight it, I didn't; we had tomorrow night all to ourselves and for the first time all night I wasn't worried. He was going to take care of me and love me as I was going to try my best to give back to him what he gives me. We were going to be just fine. Georg, tomorrow I will whole-heartedly come to you as you wait for me.


End file.
